Wrongful Death Information

When a family must confront the death of a loved one, it is a significant hardship on everyone involved. Losing a family member not only typically results in a loss of income for the family, but most importantly, there is the permanent loss of the family member. The loss of companionship to the family, under the law, is called loss of consortium.

Wrongful Death Consequences

Losing a family member or close friend is a devastating experience. Although financial expenses are not what one wants to think about, it is an unfortunate reality in death cases. Some normal economic costs arising from the death of a loved one include:

Funeral Expenses

Medical Care (If provided before death)

Loss of family income

An attorney cannot replace a family member, but with skill and quality representation, an attorney can help you obtain the compensation you are entitled to under the law.

Arizona Law

Each state has different laws concerning the wrongful death of another person. In Arizona, there are two separate claims that can be pursued in this type of case. First, the estate of the deceased has a wrongful death claim for losses arising from things such as injury and suffering before death. The estate can also recover for expected contribution that would have been obtained in employment.

The second claim available in an Arizona wrongful death case belongs to the close survivors of the deceased. By law, these are very close familial members to the victim, such as a spouse, parents and children. Other items for which surviving family members can receive compensation include:

Loss of love

Loss of affection

Loss of companionship

Loss of care

Loss of protection and guidance

If you have questions or need help concerning a wrongful death case, you should consider consulting with a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this topic.

Legal Aspects

In tort law, a person commits negligence by failing to act as a reasonable person would under the same or similar circumstances. An injury results because an individual or group of individuals failed to live up to this standard, known as the reasonable person standard. Everyone must exercise a duty of due care in daily interactions with other people. For example, a driver who is not paying attention and runs a red light, which causes an accident, is negligent. The driver has failed their duty of care and injury or death is the result.

In court, one must prove another person is negligent to obtain a remedy under the law. This can be a complex issue sometimes, as there may be more than one party who contributed to an accident. Other issues, such as in products liability cases, may require expert witnesses.

Wrongful death cases have different issues if the deceased is a child as opposed to an adult. Age and life expectancy are important to a court that is determining compensation. It can be easier to determine future earnings for an adult, who has consistent employment, over a high school student. A jury will never be able to exactly measure a person's worth; rather, the jury will try to quantify and compensate in the best manner possible.

If you need help in pursuing a wrongful death claim, contact our office. Our skilled attorneys can guide you.

*Contingent fees are charged on total recovery. **No Fee Guarantee applies in the event there is no recovery.